The Les Cheneaux Area Artisan Cooperative is excited about opening a new gallery in Cedarville for this summer. The Old Shell Gallery will be located in the old gas station at the corner of M-134 and M-129, and will feature the work of LCAAC members as well as some invited artists. A “soft-opening” is scheduled for the weekend of May 14-15, to coincide with the Aldo Leopold festival. This will give the community a sneak peak at what the Old Shell Gallery will be offering all summer. The gallery will re-open Memorial Day Weekend, and begin regular summer hours (Wednesday-Sunday noon-6pm) on June 1.

Cooperative members are enthusiastic about this project, and multiple work parties have already come together to get the building ready for use. The gallery will be staffed by member volunteers during open hours, and a Gallery Manager has been hired for bookkeeping and other administrative duties.

The LCAAC Board voted to move forward with the gallery on March 16, and hopes that this pop-up gallery will serve as proof-of-concept and help them decide whether and how to proceed with a permanent gallery in future years. The Board has allocated funds from LCAAC savings to cover start-up costs for the Old Shell Gallery, with additional support from the Les Cheneaux Arts Council and the Les Cheneaux Community Foundation for the revitalization of the building.

Work for sale at the gallery will include photography, painting, ceramics, fiber, blown glass, jewelry and metal sculpture. There will be events scheduled throughout the season and a kids’ activity corner. For additional information and updates, watch the Old Shell Gallery page on the Cooperative website.